jane o'brien. a need your explodes over russia, leaving at least 1000 people injured and surprising many more. >> there was a flash. we thought it was fireworks. and then there was an explosion a couple minutes later. >> prosecutors say they will pursue premeditated murder charges in the shooting death of pistorius' girlfriend, and we will show you why the big easy is becoming hollywood of the south. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. in a scene which could have been taken from a hollywood script today, a media or ripped across

the sky and exploited over russia. there was a sonic blast, injuring nearly 1000 people. it is thought to be the first meteor strikes of this scale in more than a century. we have a report. >> at morning in russia, the radio on, when out of nowhere, a dancing flash across the sky. a site that few people had ever seen until now. a terrifying blaze of light as a rock hurtled towards earth. people rushed for a look. the roc was burning as it fell. it was also breaking up. explosions. the powerful shock wave shattered windows. local people who filmed the scenes say it was like a bomb

going off. closed-circuit television reported the impact of the blast indoors. the damage caused by the extraordinary effect of the rock blowing apart. >> i saw an object moving through the sky, and then there was a flash. we assumed it was fireworks, and then it was like a rocket, with an explosion. >> the hospitals soon filled with the injured. most of them had been cut by flying glass. they had gone outside to watch and had not realized the danger. across the region, traffic cameras captured the moment where the rock was overhead, and the scene of the disaster. there are thousands of rocks out in space. every day, thousands fall to

earth, but most burn up in the atmosphere, and no one is killed by them. one was too small to spot in advance. by contrast, scientists have been tracking a much larger lump traveling to the south. to give you an idea of its size, imagine a football stadium. this asteroid would cover about half. this rock passed just inside the most distance that light. 17,000 miles from earth. it is close. there is no risk, but it is a warning of what is out there. nasa attract the asteroid. they said there was no danger. an observer pick out the tiny white shape of the rock going through space. >> we have always focused people's minds on this. we have known for a while that there are things out there.

this is just a very timely reminder, a reminder of why it is important for us to keep scanning the skies. >> all of this is a wake-up call. the asteroid that was much larger did pass us by. when it comes to protecting ourselves, there is not much we can do. bbc news. >> for more on today's events, i spoke to a chemist at the smithsonian in washington. what is going on out there? first of all, you have this need your read, and then you have this asteroid. >> absolutely, a very busy day. i think it is unprecedented. a really truly interesting day, to have them passing so close that it is actually visible, and then to have this media right in russia. it is a special day.

>> what is causing it? we did not know any of this was coming? >> no, we were actually caught a bit by surprise. we had about a one-day warning that the meteorite was approaching. >> how much danger are we actually in? it seems like it is only a mountain of time -- only in amount of time before something happens. >> the good news is that the vast majority of the material burns up in the atmosphere. it actually produces those beautiful me your showers. it is very rare the we have something large. -- that we have something so large, so close to civilization. they can also often fall on uninhabited land. >> if something did come

dangerously close, what could we do about it, even if we could predict that? >> there is not much we can do. there is thought that maybe could push something in orbit and push it away from us. if it came too close, there is another choice we could blow it up, but that produces other problems. instead of one large object, we have smaller objects. >> if this meets your right does it found somewhere in russia, what can it tell us? >> every inside we get is another piece of the jigsaw puzzle that tell us how the solar system formed. everyone is a fantastic opportunity to study. >> thank you so much. >> fascinating stuff. now, with a dramatic theme in a

south african court room today, oscar pistorius broke down and cried as he was charged in the murder of his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, and his family says he opposes the charges strongly. >> he used to revel in the limelight, but he arrived in the courthouse in pretoria today, a frenzy of media interest in the fallen hero. relatives and friends. his twin and his sister. the packed court room himself. hear, the glamorous couple at the heart of the trial. was it a terrible accident or a murder?

the police displayed as evidence this pistol. the television cameras were switched off in court as pistorius arrived, and he broke down, sobbing, when they announced the charge of premeditated murder. in a statement issued by his family, he insisted that the alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms. "our thoughts and prayers should be for reeva and her family regardless of this terrible, terrible tragedy." they say they need more time to prepare their defense. it will be postponed until next tuesday. more controversially, it was decided instead of going straight from here to the local prison, he can return to the relative comfort of a nearby police station.

pistorius rose from the bench, had a brief exchange with his father, and then left the court room. tributes, and this heartfelt message. >> if you really believe in the lord, we do not have to make any judgment. >> cornell then, a pause as the prosecution gathers more evident -- evidence, and he prepares for another night behind bars. bbc news. >> in other news now, the first images of the venezuelan leader hugo chavez since he had surgery have been published. he is seen smiling with his two daughters by his side. he went to cuba for the operation last december.

it was his fourth surgery in 18 months for the cancer which was first diagnosed two years ago. in bahrain, supporters on the streets to mark the second anniversary of the failed uprising against the rulers. the demonstration followed the death of a teenage boy. there were clashes during the protests. and a nigerian woman has died after a sudden illness. the entertainer fell ill shortly after returning. the 31-year-old had won several industry awards. the british prime minister david cameron is making a three-day visit to india next week. he will be arriving in a country still traumatized after the rape of a deli students, who later died.

-- of a new delhi student, who later died. many of the politicians are, themselves, accused of rape and murder and other serious crimes. andrew north reports. >> to w ministers in the largest indian state, also accused criminals. one is charged with rape. the other, attempted murder. down the line from delhi, the city where the man has his power base. it has been six years since he was charged with raping a local woman. the ministry is meeting constituents when we arrive. it they are asking for his help. he says the rape charge has been invented by his political rivals. >> this is a conspiracy.

the charge was slapped on me during the last government. this is why i won the election by 30,000 votes. >> a lot of people find it hard to understand how ministers such as yourself up whole lot if they are facing serious charges themselves. >> just charging someone is not enough. >> but in many other countrywide, in many other democracies began many other countries -- in many other countries, many of the democracies -- >> this is an attempt to murder. attempt to murder. >> trying to change things can be dangerous, this man claims. when he tried to run against him, he tried to kill him, he

claims. but nothing has happened. visiting him at his home, there were celebrations at his home. he was just promoted to transportation minister. denying he was even charged with attempted murder. >> in my political career, won a hundred 50 people have run against me, and there are -- 150 people have run against me, and not a single one of them can say that i have done them harm. >> it has to go to court. should you not stand down until you can clear your name? it is a new session of the state assembly. the ministers are back at work and in their element. however serious the charge, they can stay in office as long as

they are not actually convicted. it is an astonishing fact that half of the minister's are charged with crimes ranging from rape and murder to robbery. this is just a stark example of what is a nationwide problem. one-third of all of the elected indian officials are charged with a crime. >> murder, attempted murder. >> these watchdogs track these. they look at the declarations of any politician, which they have to make, of the charges against them. >> it takes quite a long time. they are in the seat of power. there they can delay cases not just for years but for decades. >> india has a general election

last year, and many of the suspected criminals are already preparing to return to power. andrew north, a deli -- andrew north, delhi. >> and getting off the carnival ship finally. how do they deal with this disaster? today in cairo, the president rallied in the capital. there was a recent wave of protests which has seen the country plunged into chaos, two years after hosni mubarak left power. they are accusing him of trying to monopolize power. they say it has hurt the country's economy. we have a report from the scene of one of today's rallies. >> this is outside the

university in the heart of the capital. this is put on by supporters of the elected president, morsi, and they have been holding demonstrations for several weeks. the muslim brotherhood, which is the main supporter, and other muslim or islam groups, basically, they do not want to see more violence. they are calling on the opposition. they are saying you have to accept that the president was elected as president. live with him for four years. give him a chance and see what he can do. this was rejected by the opposition, holding a rally not too far from this one.

they say he has hijacked the constitutional process, which is what the people do not want. for the moment, it seems to be rhetoric and not violence. they are gathering in support of the president, saying no to violence. >> after four days of being stuck at sea, the nightmare is finally over for those aboard the carnival cruise ship triumph. more than 4000 passengers a and crew were finally able to get off. it followed an ordeal which began on sunday. what, if anything, can a company do to handle a public relations crisis like this?

that is an issue i talked with with a representative from a communications firm. thank you very much for coming in. what is the biggest thing that carnival can do no about its image as a trash can? >> two things. number one, do not be defensive. you would think that would be a long strange under the circumstances, but actually, the more vigorous and robust their defense, the better it is. the other is to understand that a crisis like this, serious as it is, difficult as it is, is actually an opportunity. organizations are judged more on how they deal with a problem than on how they got themselves in the problem in the first place. again, very counterintuitive. it is natural to be defensive, explain yourself, justify what

you did do, what you did not do -- this involves moving forward. >> in terms of not being defensive, we all knew what was going on as it was happening because of the media, cell phones, technology, etc.. how can a company cope with that kind of instant attention? >> it is not easy. welcome to the new world, and this is a perfect example of that. we have a real-time coverage of the war story of people living through it. there is nothing you can do about it except to play that game, as well. talking real time about what you are doing, how you are fixing the problem. since they have not figured out what the problem is, even now, it would be what we are doing to solve the problem for the customers, what we are going to do for those customers when they

get to land. >> what marx would you give them? >> i would not give them very high marks because they missed some basic steps. they fell into a very predictable and typical trap, either clamming up, or to the extent you cannot do that, talking about what was in the past. the key thing now is that those people booked that crews for a reason, and it was not because they hated cruising. what they want is that there is reassurance, that it is ok, to do something that they want to do anyway, and the way to do that quite simply and directly is to go overboard in taking care of them, go above and beyond what any reasonable person would expect the company to do. >> and that could include legal action. thank you very much. >> thank you.

now, to a new metaphor the movie industry. a hollywood starring role. recently, new orleans has been drawing the directors. there are several new movies. what is it about the big easy that is drawing everybody in? we went to louisiana to find out. >> we are here making a movie. there are two reasons to choose new orleans. one is created. it is a great place to make a movie because it is full of character. another reason is fabulous incentive. >> productions come to the city in use local crew and talent and

get 30 cents back on every dollar. >> we come down here and think we may not be able to work with these people, this and that, and you come down here, and it is easy to shoot here. the mechanics is like moving an army around or a city. moving the whole company 3, after you are sometimes times a day. i see people who have moved down here with their families because there is year round work here. >> by 2009, i could finally do what i loved in the place that i love. >> the movie was shot here. >> get up there. >> this is such an old city. the only things that are new have to do with filming. that is ironic.

in l.a., the old things there are the studios. they can use some updates. >> i would like to finish my line of inquiry. >> ok, cut. >> after katrina, after the oil spill, i am glad to see income and commerce coming into the area. >> 61 tax credit productions. dollars paid just in payroll alone last year. every two years, we review the tax credit. >> if they were to get rid of the tax break, it would be crippling to the number of films that come. at the same time, they would

have had it for so long that there would be eight basic crew -- a base grow -- crew. go . >> new orleans, a rising film star. that brings us to a close. constant updates from around the world on our 24-hour news network. from all of us here, thanks very much for watching and have a good weekend. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, union bank,

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>> "amour" rated pg-13, playing in theaters. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet in los angeles.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: a meteor exploded in the skies over russia today with the power of an atomic bomb, shattering windows and injuring more than 1,000 people. good evening. i'm judy woodruff. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, we get the latest on the spectacle, and today's other cosmic event-- a close encounter with a large asteroid.

>> this thing is pretty big. it's about half the size of a football field, although there are larger ones out there that we're tracking. >> woodruff: then, margaret warner updates the president's push to curb gun violence as he takes his case to his hometown of chicago. >> brown: mark shields and michael gerson analyze the week's news. >> woodruff: and ray suarez talks with homeland security secretary janet napolitano about combating the growing threat of cyber attacks. >> to the extent that some are seeking to infiltrate our network, steal that information, not have to invest in the research and development that goes into innovation, that's a really big deal. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway.